Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Shares in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has invested approximately $409,000 in Aramark by acquiring 11,837 shares during the first quarter.
• Aramark recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.105 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.0%.
• Research firms have upgraded Aramark's stock ratings, with Robert W. Baird raising their target price from $43.00 to $47.00 and designating it as "outperform."

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 40,750.0% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 817 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aramark in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 82.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,472 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 21.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,859 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ARMK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Baird R W raised shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Aramark from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Aramark and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.44.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARMK traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $39.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,427,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,769. Aramark has a 1-year low of $29.92 and a 1-year high of $44.49. The stock has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. Aramark had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 15.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.11%.

About Aramark

Aramark provides food and facilities services to education, healthcare, business and industry, sports, leisure, and corrections clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Food and Support Services United States, and Food and Support Services International. The company offers food-related managed services, including dining, catering, food service management, and convenience-oriented retail services; non-clinical food and food-related support services, such as patient food and nutrition, retail food, environmental services, and procurement services; and plant operations and maintenance, custodial/housekeeping, energy management, grounds keeping, and capital project management services.